


Fix

by Qpenguin98



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exhaustion, Guilt, I suppose, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), This is not a shippy fic, at all, i really don't know what else to put, this is angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 10:09:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7570102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qpenguin98/pseuds/Qpenguin98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s day three and everyone’s a little worried at this point. Pidge is on their twelfth cup of coffee, actually having to make it themself because Hunk finally refused. It’s not anywhere as good, but they can barely taste anything, and all they want is the caffeine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fix

Pidge sits at their laptop, surrounded by the broken pieces of Rover.

They’d gone down the hole it had fallen in the middle of the night, when even Shiro was too exhausted to catch them roaming the halls.

The sight of Haxus’ body had caused them to stop. It was just sitting there, eyes still open. They thought he might still move as they’d inched closer to take Rover from his grip.

It was simple, really. Haxus was dead because he tried to kill them. So why does Pidge feel so guilty?

They push those thoughts away and focus on the task at hand: fixing Rover.

Shiro finds them hunched over their laptop in the morning, typing in codes and switching around wires. He knocks on the door frame and they jump.

“I didn’t expect you to be awake,” he says, genuinely surprised.

“Ahh, well, I just got carried away with something last night and couldn’t stop until I got it done, you know?”

“You mean you haven’t slept at all?”

“Um… no?”

“Pidge that’s not-”

“Well _you_ can’t really talk, seeing as it’s a miracle you ever sleep at all.”

Shiro is silent for a second, because he really can’t say anything. They’re right and they know it. And then he sees what they’re working on.

“Is that _Rover_?”

They register, for the first time, that it might not have been the best idea to try and fix Rover where Shiro could easily see.

“…Yes?”

“Wha- How’d you even get that back?”

“I went and got it.”

“Haxus is still down there and you-”

“I am well aware.”

Shiro shuts up.

“Honestly Shiro, it’s fine. And I’m halfway done with Rover already. See? Almost like new.”

They can tell he’s still worried about them, so they look up and smile.

“Meet you down for breakfast?”

Shiro sighs and nods.

They turn back to their computer.

\---

“Hunk, fuck me up with that coffee!”

“Pidge,” Shiro says from across the table.

“You act like I’m twelve,” they grumble.

“Um, that’s because you are?” Lance shoots with a mouthful of breakfast.

“I’m fourteen you dick.”

“Pidge,” he says again, sterner this time.

They mutter into their coffee mug as Hunk hands it to them. Keith takes a bite of food without realizing that it’s literally steaming hot and curses under his breath.

Pidge waits.

Nothing.

“Why don’t you scold Keith, huh? He has a worse mouth than me.”

“Because,” Keith says after downing his glass of water. “I’m almost an actual, literal adult.”

“And so am I!” adds in Lance, unprovoked.

“How does that have any relevance to right now?”

“Because we’re both seventeen? I’m just better at it because I blow on my food before I eat it, dumbass.”

“How am _I_ -”

“ _Paladins_.”

Everyone shuts up at Allura’s voice.

“Our goal is to be a team, not to start arguments over little things.”

Pidge sighs and excuses themself from the table, taking their coffee with them.

\---

They’ve been working on Rover for over twenty-four hours at this point, and there is no stopping. They’re on their fourth cup of coffee, thanks to Hunk, who is unable to resist when they put on their scary sleep deprived tone.

They don’t even try, it just happens when they don’t sleep.

Rover isn’t working. They’ve tried so many things, and it still won’t light up.

Pidge sets their computer to the side and stands, stretching. There’s nothing more they can do right now, and they already tried sleeping.

It didn’t exactly work.

So they settle for wandering the halls. There’s a dull ache behind their eyes, but it’s nothing pain killers can’t fix.

It’s nice. Quiet. No one around to make unnecessary noises.

The observatory is empty when they enter it, coffee mug in hand. They tap a few commands into the screen and the dome cover moves away, revealing the stars out around the castle.

They sit, mug in hand, staring up at the worlds in the sky.

“Pidge?”

They don’t look down, just wave a hand to signal they heard. Their everything feels heavy.

Footsteps carry over to them and the look down at their mug, sipping.

“Why are you still awake?” Shiro asks, a clear tinge of worry in his voice.

“Can’t sleep,” they say, and it’s true. They just can’t will themself to close their eyes long enough to fall asleep.

“I’m sure the coffee’s not helping,” Shiro laughs out.

Pidge smiles and looks back up at the sky.

“Do you ever wonder if we’re doing the right thing?”

Shiro looks at them confused and Pidge hurries to amend their question.

“I mean, I know the Galra are evil and fighting them isn’t _wrong_ , but, there’s got to be how many innocent people on the ships we destroy. People forced into working the war ships and technicians and just people that don’t even want this war.”

Shiro is quiet, and Pidge silently worries that they’ve made a mistake in asking this question. Of course Shiro doesn’t wonder that why would he?

“Sometimes,” he starts, then stops. “Sometimes there are casualties in war, but that doesn’t make their deaths any less wrong. We don’t know them, so it should be simple, easy to look past them to get to the enemy, but it isn’t.”

Pidge nods and downs the rest of their coffee. Shiro puts his arm around their shoulder and they lean in close.

“You should sleep,” says Shiro.

“So should you,” answers Pidge.

Shiro breathes out a laugh and sits quietly with them for a while, until his curiosity gets the best of him.

“How’s Rover?”

Pidge groans.

“I can’t get him to work. I’ve tried so many things and there’s not even a flash of light.”

“Sleep on it?”

“I already tried that. It didn’t really work, because I’m still awake.”

Shiro thinks for a long moment, and Pidge gets antsy, twisting the cup around in their hands.

“Try asking Hunk. He’s good at stuff like that, fitting things back together.”

“Yeah,” Pidge all but whispers. “Okay.”

They sit together in silence until the morning.

\---

It’s day three and everyone’s a little worried at this point. Pidge is on their twelfth cup of coffee, actually having to make it themself because Hunk finally refused. It’s not anywhere as good, but they can barely taste anything, and all they want is the caffeine.

They have not, in fact, asked Hunk to help with Rover. It’s something they have to complete themself, or not at all.

A headache is pounding behind their eyes, and they just chug more coffee in response. They’ve moved out of their bedroom per a request from Shiro.

Rover’s still not cooperating.

They’re trying so hard, but their mind keeps slipping in and out of focus. Everyone’s so _loud_ and they can’t block out anything.

Their head throbs and Pidge grips at their hair. Their arms feel like lead and there’s voices floating in and out of their ears.

In a moment of clarity, Pidge opens their eyes to see Shiro kneeling in front of them worriedly.

They bite their tongue to keep from groaning.

Hand on their shoulder hand on their head everything feels like ice before their brain snaps and everything goes black.

\---

They wake up to blackness, barely registering that there’s something wet on their eyes. They pull it off to find a washcloth.

“What-”

“Helps with headaches,” says Shiro, who Pidge has just noticed. They jump a little, gripping at the washcloth.

“Sorry,” he says as they fumble for their glasses. Everything looks clearer.

“What even…what?”

“You passed out earlier, probably from exhaustion. Do you not remember?”

“I remember working on Rover and that’s about it.”

Shiro sighs and shakes his head. “You can’t just not sleep for three days Pidge. I’m not even talking about putting the team at risk, I’m talking about putting yourself at risk. You literally passed out from exhaustion, and it didn’t look fun.”

Pidge is quiet.

“I understand that you want to fix Rover, but you need to take care of yourself.”

“I just… I wanted to…”

“I know.”

“But you don’t?” Shiro starts at that. “I mean you probably most of all but I just, you don’t get it. It’s… It’s like a connection to my family and if I can’t figure out how to fix it, how can I ever figure out how to get them back?”

“Pidge…”

“And then, like, there’s Haxus’ body down in the fucking basement, which definitely isn’t the worst thing I’ve done, like blowing up ships full of innocent people. But he’s just there for me to feel bad about whenever I want to throw myself a pity party, which isn’t as often as it could be, considering my dad and brother are probably being tortured in some Galra work camp and there’s nothing I can do about it. My mom doesn’t even know where I am, we’re in the middle of space almost dying all the time and I can’t even fix a stupid fucking drone!”

They sit, hands fisting and unfisting the washcloth and biting at their lip. They’re trying so hard not to cry, because if they start crying they won’t stop. Shiro’s clearly debating whether to give them space or not, and he just gives up and comes over to them on the bed.

Pidge turns their head away and is immediately engulfed in his arms.

They try.

They really do try.

But they cry anyway.

It’s an ugly, red faced kind of cry and they really don’t want to, but it feels better than the three days worth of coffee they’ve drunk, and the misplaced guilt they’ve been harboring, so they try to ignore it and just focus on Shiro, who’s incredibly solid against them.

“Sorry,” Pidge manage to choke out. He just shushes them and pulls them in tighter.  

“I know you’re worried about them. I am too.” He stops and breathes. “But they wouldn’t want to see you like this, and I know I certainly don’t. We just want you safe, Pidge.”

They nod and try to blink away the rest of their tears before wetly answering “I know.”

Shiro sighs and loosens his arms but Pidge let out a noise of protest.

“Can… Can you just stay?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I can do that.”

They sit together until Pidge falls asleep again, and only then does Shiro leave, closing the door quietly behind him.  


  
  


 

**Author's Note:**

> this is for me friend noemi  
> hi noemi  
> also  
> i just  
> i love space dad shiro hes the best awkward dad moments where he gotta be reasonable are the best i love nb pidge i love me some pidge got damn


End file.
